Scotland would have being bankrupt if England hadn't bailed them out after the 2008 financial crash.
Indeed- the only reason Scotland joined the UK in the first place was after going bankrupt 300 years earlier - after trying to set up a trading colony in Panama.
The Referendum has come about because the most canny politician in Scotland - Alec Salmond - has slowly come to power over the past decade. The Scottish Parliament was a sop thrown to the nationalists in Scotland - in order to keep them in the UK. But it has backfired as the Nationalist vote has risen (due to non-Nationalist reasons). As such - Salmond is now in power and can directly ask for a Referendum.
Cameron agreed to this. Possibly because he secretly wants Scotland out of the UK - so that the Tories will stay in power forever. But more likely he has agreed to it so that his term as Prime Minister can end with him winning the Referendum and claiming that 'saving the UK' is part of his legacy.
All Prime Ministers want a 'legacy' they can be remembered by. And Cameron's will be this. Along with a possible referendum on staying in the EU (which he will campaign to keep England in).
There is alot of bluster from Scotland about wanting to leave the UK. And I don't believe it.
Equally - there is alot of bluster about the UK leaving the EU. But again - I don't think it will ever happen (even though I would like it to).
The thing about Scotland is that it is subsidised by the English thanks to the Barnett Formula. As such - the standard of living will decline if they leave the UK.
Also - there is no sense of risk taking and entrepeneurialism in Scotland. It was at the leading edge of the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago. But that has drifted away now. All the talented Scots leave the country to seek their fortune elsewhere. And that includes Sean Connery. As such - there is no real dynamism left in the country. The same could be said for alot of England as well - except that London makes up for alot of that.
In Scotland it is a pretty depressing place to be - apart from Glasgow and Edinburgh. But - Edinburgh in particular is a place where the majority of people are not even Scottish.
Also it is interesting to note that there are no Scottish billionaires right now. I always find that quite revealing.
I live 70 miles from Scotland - and have taken nearly all my holidays there. And was at University in Edinburgh. So - I have a pretty good feel for the place.
Still - it is a difficult issue to analyse. Since most Scots feel they would have being fine if they had kept the oil that the English found in the North Sea for themselves. Possibly. But it is too late now.
Scotland was feeling pretty prosperous 4 years ago. But - that was just a banking bubble. And the SNP were made to look foolish with their talk of 'an Arc of Prosperity'.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/articl...aster.html
In hindsight - that one speech was the final nail in the coffin of any dreams for Scottish independence.
Cardguy
PS I expect we will hear from this lot when Scotland again (as 34 years ago) votes to stay in the UK:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Na...ation_Army